Peterborough rough sleeper hub needs new home

The Light Project currently helps homeless residents at The Garden House in the Cathedral grounds.

But following an announcement by the Cathedral that it will be selling off the building the Garden House is currently located in, Light Project Peterborough are currently looking for a new home.

The charity has now launched a consultation to gather the views and opinions of current and ex-rough sleepers, but also the wider city, about where this should be and how it should be run.

Services provided at the Garden House are provided by the wider Safer Off the Streets partnership and include help finding accommodation, GP services, alcohol and drug rehabilitation and art therapy to name just a few – as well as a welcoming smile, a listening ear and a hot cup of tea.

It was launched just under two years ago, just after the launch of the Safer Off the Streets partnership and over one new rough sleeper a day in leaving their lives on the streets.

Steven Pettican, chief executive officer at Light Project Peterborough, said: “The Garden House has been a huge success story over the past two years and we are hugely thankful to the Cathedral for providing us with this fantastic location on a short-term lease for the past two years.

“We will now be exploring new locations for the Garden House, which we hope could be built and open within the next two years. We want to invite everyone with an interest in supporting rough sleepers to be safer off the streets to comment on how they feel the new Garden House could best build on the work both we and the wider Safer Off the Streets partnership have done to date.”

Christine Graham, chair of the Safer Off the Streets partnership, said: “As the Garden House is pivotal to the work of the Safer Off the Streets partnership we will be doing all we can to support the Light Project Peterborough in finding a new home for it over the coming months.

“During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the services normally provided by the Garden House continued, plus staff and volunteers have been redeployed to partner with the council in leading support to the hotels rough sleepers have been housed in, including mobilising over 23,000 meals, laundry and wider welfare services. This is a time to reflect on the good work that has been achieved and with the help of the consultation responses, to plan on how to make this even better in the future.”

Councillor Steve Allen, cabinet member for housing at Peterborough City Council, said: “Over the past three months, we have been able to help more rough sleepers than ever before decide to make a break from their life on the streets and to actively seek accommodation now they can ‘press play’ on their lives again. Without the services offered through the Garden House and the wider Safer Off the Street partnership, we would not have been able to do this. The Garden House continues to have a bright future in our city and I would urge people to take part in this consultation to help shape this.”

To have your say visit www.lightprojectpeterborough.org.uk and the consultation will be open until the end of the month.

The key findings from the consultation will be shared at a Workshop Webinar on Thursday 16 July at 5pm. Details of how to join the webinar will be posted on the Light Project Peterborough’s website: www.lightprojectpeterborough.org.uk.